High expansion wedge
A drilling wedge that has, in addition to a normal connector rod, two wings that extend from the sides of the wedge. These wings are angular members that fill much of the space in the larger casing around the wedge. These wings prevent a milling assembly from sliding past the wedge or from moving off to the side, where an exit through the pipe or casing in the wrong place can occur. Instead, the wings help to keep the milling assembly in the proper position on the tray of the wedge to ensure that the milling assembly reaches the proper exit point in the casing. The wings are retracted when the HEW is deployed through the narrower pipe. Once the HEW is properly positioned, the guide cone is extended and the wings are deployed.
Not Applicable
STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENTNot Applicable
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the InventionThis invention relates to expansion wedges for fishing and particularly to high expansion wedges.
2. Description of the Prior ArtFor over 20 years the North Slope of Alaska has been working with and continually developing a Coiled Tubing Drilling (CTD) program, resulting in over 800 wells to date being drilled. Back then it was a great innovation, allowing access to oil left behind in the original development due to reservoir faulting. One of the reasons CTD is so successful is because it takes an existing “donor” well that has already had a useful life and uses it again. In each CTD well the donor well must be exited to access the oil that was left behind. That exit involves cutting a window in the casing using a whipstock or wedge and mills designed to cut a window in the mother-bore casing. Donor wells come in all shapes and sizes. One of the most challenging exit types historically has been exiting 7″ casing when there is a 3-½″ tubing string in the well from the surface.
In the prior art, there is no commercially available whipstock system that could successfully mill a 2.80″ window off a whipstock set in 7.0″ casing/liner. This is due to not being able to properly anchor the whipstock in the 7.0″ casing/liner and the mill not being able to stay on the whipstock tray face. The same is true for a 4-½″ tubing by 9-⅝″ casing/liner. In these scenarios the only available option would be to fill the casing/liner with cement and prepare it for a high side cement pilot hole exit. The pilot hole must be drilled along the high side of the casing/liner to ensure the mills contact the casing as it leaves the whipstock tray face. This type of action can cause many problems such as the milling assembly moving past the whipstock or the milling assembly sliding off to the side of the whipstock and drilling an exit in the wrong location. Moreover, lost production from the mother-bore being cemented off, or in the worst-case scenario losing the wellbore to a poorly executed cement operation is also a potential risk.
Preparing a well for a high side cement pilot hole is a lengthy and costly process. At a minimum it includes two wireline rig ups, and two days of a service coil tubing unit. The wireline runs are to get a static bottom hole pressure, tag top of fill to get plugback total depth, and an optional caliper log of the 7″ casing/liner condition. A service coil will then perform a fill clean out if needed, mill any ID restrictions; i.e. nipple profiles less than 2.80″ ID. The last step is to place the cement in the 7″ casing/liner in an over-balanced method that squeezes off the existing mother-bore perforations and doesn't allow any wellbore fluid/gas invasion that will compromise the integrity of cement.
Many times, this approach has been successful, but this casing exit method has the highest failure rate. For example over 10 years 42 wells were treated using the high side cement pilot hole exit procedure. Out of those 42 wells, 17 of them experienced some form of non-productive time. On average this resulted in 2.3% of a calendar year (8.34 days) lost to trouble time.
The costs associated with well preparation prior to a CTD exit can be 25% of the total overall well cost. By reducing the amount of work required from wireline and service coil to prepare a well for CTD has a side benefit of being able to divert those assets to other wells to increase base production. Not having to drill a cement pilot hole, and other reductions in non-drilling activity conducted by CTD will increase the well's per year achievable, offering additional value to the operation.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTIONThe instant invention overcomes the difficulties described above. It is wedge that has two extendable wings that extend to fill the gap between the wedge and casing. The wings prevent the mill assembly from wandering off the tray face.
It is an object of this invention to provide a high expansion wedge that eliminates the need for a rig workover and adds relatively little cost to the operation.
It is another object of this invention to provide a high expansion wedge that provides for a faster construction time .
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a high expansion wedge that permits the operator to kick-off lower in the existing completion assuming the formation allows. This enables the well to be sidetracked again from another HEW higher up in the wellbore.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a high expansion wedge that if the initial HEW fails to anchor properly there is no loss to the existing wellbore, minus the operational rig time cost as compared to a cement pilot hole exit, where, if there are serious enough issues, it could result in the loss of the wellbore.
The HEW is a wedge that has a connecting rod in it that attaches to a setting tool. In addition, it also has two wings that extend from the sides of the HEW. These wings are angular members that fill much of the space in the larger casing around the wedge. These wings prevent the milling assembly from sliding past the wedge or from moving off to the side, where an exit in the wrong place can occur. Instead, the wings help to keep the milling assembly in the proper position on the tray of the wedge to ensure that the milling assembly reaches the proper exit point in the casing.
The wings are retracted when the HEW is deployed through the narrower pipe. Once the HEW is properly positioned, the guide cone is extended and the wings are deployed.
Referring now to the figures and especially
Once in position, the HEW 10 is expanded to lock it in place, and the setting tool 110 is removed and withdrawn.
The present disclosure should not be construed in any limited sense other than that limited by the scope of the claims having regard to the teachings herein and the prior art being apparent with the preferred form of the invention disclosed herein and which reveals details of structure of a preferred form necessary for a better understanding of the invention and may be subject to change by skilled persons within the scope of the invention without departing from the concept thereof.
Claims
1. A high expansion wedge for use in oil well casing comprising:
- a tray blank having a top, a bottom, and a center midway between said top and said bottom, said tray blank having a pair of slots formed therein;
- the top being on the uphole end of the tray blank;
- a pair of extendable wings located between said top and said center portion of said tray blank, positioned inside of said tray blank in a first position and being extended outside of said tray blank in a second position; and
- a means for opening said pair of extendable wings operably installed in said tray blank and in operable communication with said pair of extendable wings;
- wherein the tray blank is configured to form a wedge to guide a milling assembly to an exit point in the casing when the extendable wings are in the second position.
2. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 wherein said means for opening said pair of extendable wing causes said pair of extendable wings to move from said first position to said second position.
3. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 wherein the means for opening said pair of extendable wings includes:
- a connecting rod, in operable communication with said pair of extendable wings; and a body lock ring, in operable communication with said connecting rod.
4. The high expansion wedge of claim 3 further comprising:
- a slip, hingably attached to said tray blank and said connecting rod; and
- a guide cone, attached to said slip.
5. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 wherein each of the extendable wings is a solid member.
6. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 wherein each of the extendable wings is a two-piece member.
7. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 wherein each of the extendable wings is a three-piece member.
8. The high expansion wedge of claim 1 further comprising:
- a setting tool in operable communication with said means for opening said pair of extendable wings.
9. The high expansion wedge of claim 8 further comprising a means for releasing the setting tool from said means for opening said pair of extendable wings.
10. The high expansion wedge of claim 9 wherein the means for opening said pair of extendable wings includes a body lock ring in operable communication with said setting tool.
11. The high expansion wedge of claim 10 wherein the means for releasing the setting tool from said means for opening said pair of extendable wings comprise at least one shear screw in operable communication with said body lock ring and said setting tool.
12. A wedge for use in oil well casing having a tray blank, having a top, a bottom, and a center midway between said top and said bottom, a connecting rod hingably attached to the tray blank, a slip hingably attached to said tray blank and the connecting rod, and a guide cone attached to said slip wherein the improvement comprises:
- a pair of extendable wings located between said top and center of said tray blank, positioned inside of said tray blank in a first position and being extended outside of said tray blank in a second position; the top being on the uphole end of the tray blank; and
- a means for opening said pair of extendable wings operably installed in said tray blank and in operable communication with said pair of extendable wings;
- wherein the tray blank is configured to form a wedge to guide a milling assembly to an exit point in the casing when extendable wings are in the second position.
13. The high expansion wedge of claim 12 wherein each of the extendable wings is a solid member.
14. The high expansion wedge of claim 12 wherein each of the extendable wings is a two-piece member.
15. The high expansion wedge of claim 12 wherein each of the extendable wings is a three-piece member.
16. The high expansion wedge of claim 12 further comprising:
- a setting tool in operable communication with said means for opening said pair of extendable wings.
17. The high expansion wedge of claim 16 further comprising a means for releasing the setting tool from said means for opening said pair of extendable wings.
18. The high expansion wedge of claim 17 wherein the means for opening said pair of extendable wings includes a body lock ring in operable communication with said setting tool.
19. The high expansion wedge of claim 18 wherein the means for releasing the setting tool from said means for opening said pair of extendable wings comprise at least one shear screw in operable communication with said body lock ring and said setting tool.
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6899173 | May 31, 2005 | Harmon |
20030070801 | April 17, 2003 | Harmon |
20070034370 | February 15, 2007 | Moyes |
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Type: Grant
Filed: Mar 26, 2020
Date of Patent: Nov 22, 2022
Inventors: Robert Harris (Anchorage, AK), Carl Diller (Anchorage, AK), Candice English (Anchorage, AK), John Milne (Anchorage, AK)
Primary Examiner: Steven A MacDonald
Application Number: 16/830,845
International Classification: E21B 29/06 (20060101); E21B 23/01 (20060101);